Fiordland & Southland
South Island’s true southerly point lies not in Bluff, as many mistakenly believe, but at the end of a 20-minute trudge through a windswept cliff-side…
Must-see attractions in Fiordland & Southland
Fiordland & Southland
A tiny paradise covering only 269 hectares, Ulva Island / Te Wharawhara is a great place to see lots of native birds. Established as a bird sanctuary in…
Fiordland & Southland
A kingdom of shiny chrome lies beyond the doors of Transport World, touted as the largest private automotive museum on the planet. Across 15,000 sq metres…
Fiordland & Southland
Reach one of the South Island's most jaw-dropping coastal lookouts via the 900m Nugget Point (Tokatā) walkway. Wave-thrashed cliffs give way abruptly to…
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Fiordland & Southland
Oh, that all small-town museums could be this good! The riveting Riverton museum starts with a 16-minute film about Pākehā sealer Jack Price and his Māori…
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Fiordland & Southland
Fashioned from remaindered bits and bobs, artist and 'organic mechanic' Blair Somerville's intricately crafted automata are wonderfully irreverent. The…
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Fiordland & Southland
If you only see one waterfall in the Catlins, make it this magnificent cascade down three tiers of jet-black rock. It's an easy 10-minute clamber to reach…
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Fiordland & Southland
Fifty-eight kilometres north of Te Anau along the Milford Hwy are the Mirror Lakes, a popular stop on this world-renowned road trip. A five-minute stroll…
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Fiordland & Southland
In the early 20th century, Gore's enterprising Scottish immigrants responded to 50 years of prohibition by distilling their own moonshine. This museum…
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Fiordland & Southland
Cutting back into cliffs right on the beach, the huge, arched Cathedral Caves were carved out of the limestone by 160 million years of waves. Named for…
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Fiordland & Southland
Incorporated in this new centre is a pleasant cafe (lunch mains $10 to $22, dinner $26 to $38), visitor centre and the Gateway, a modern museum with a…
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Fiordland & Southland
Your best chance of spotting rare yellow-eyed penguins (hoiho) is from a hide at Roaring Bay, 8km south of Kaka Point's main drag. The hide is accessible…
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Owaka Museum & Catlins Information Centre
Fiordland & Southland
Vaguely canoe-shaped in honour of the town name (Owaka means 'place of the canoe'), this modern museum is a pleasant surprise. Salty tales of shipwrecks…
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Fiordland & Southland
Two falls for the price of one! A fork in the road leads you, on the left, to the graceful drop of Matai Falls, while stairs to the right bring you to…
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Fiordland & Southland
Nicknamed the ‘Goreggenheim’, this gallery has a truly impressive treasury of contemporary New Zealand art, including a large Ralph Hotere collection and…
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Fiordland & Southland
Salty tales whisper from the portholes, driftwood and barnacle-clung planks displayed at Bluff's small museum by the container port. The best part is…
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Fiordland & Southland
Standing on a desolate but beautiful point surrounded by farmland, this 13.4m-high lighthouse was built after the SS Tararua disaster, an 1881 shipwreck…
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Fiordland & Southland
Marvel at the rare phenomenon of fossilised forest, extending south of Curio Bay. Preserved by silica in the ashy floodwaters that submerged these…
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Fiordland & Southland
Built in 1889, this elegant brick-clad structure resembles a lighthouse more than it does a water tower. Almost 43m high, it was built to supply the city…
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Fiordland & Southland
Half-wild, half-tamed Queens Park encompasses a whopping 80 hectares, with various gardens themed from Japanese to native NZ plant life. There are also…
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Fiordland & Southland
This broad-domed Roman Catholic basilica, open since 1905, is one of Invercargill's most elegant landmarks, and a standout against the low-rise skyline…
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Fiordland & Southland
With characters that are part cheeky, part creepy, award-winning sculptor Helen Back makes whimsical works that look like they've stepped from the pages…
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Fiordland & Southland
Three kilometres southwest of Papatowai, a short gravel road leads to sweeping Tautuku Bay, which can be viewed from on high at the Florence Hill Lookout…
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Fiordland & Southland
It's worth stopping at McCracken's Rest, a lovely lookout point with views of wind-lashed Te Waewae Bay (and, if you're lucky, Hector's dolphins and…
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Fiordland & Southland
If you can find a parking space, pause at Pop's View for a bird's-eye view over the forest-cloaked Hollyford Valley. It's 87km north of Te Anau along the…
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Fiordland & Southland
Hardware shops aren't usually a must-see, but this one holds a piece of motoring history. In among the aisles of bolts, barbecues and brooms in this…
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Fiordland & Southland
Posing for a photo beside the Stirling Point signpost is a quintessential Bluff experience. Distances to Wellington, London and New York are indicated by…
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Milford Underwater Observatory
Milford Sound
Run by Southern Discoveries, this small observatory is NZ's only floating underwater observatory, with displays on the unique natural environment of the…
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Fiordland & Southland
Stretching over 24 hectares, this beautiful park includes landscaped gardens fringed by an expanse of native bush, plus a children's playground and duck…
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Fiordland & Southland
Less a museum, more a cabin strung with antique agricultural tools and old moa bones, Gunn's Camp Museum is worth a peep into, if only to browse the…
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Fiordland & Southland
More than 300 motorcycles spanning over a century are displayed in this shiny-floored showroom, including three-wheelers and sidecar bikes. It's utterly…
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Fiordland & Southland
A lovely walk along wooden walkways and fern-fringed tracks brings you to the attractive McLean Falls, named for an early 20th-century settler renowned…
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Fiordland & Southland
Gore Historical Museum, incorporating the Gore visitor centre , celebrates the town's proud history of fishing, farming and Māori heritage. The more…
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Waikawa Museum & Information Centre
Fiordland & Southland
A one-stop shop in a one-horse town, Waikawa's museum incorporates an information centre, acts as the reception for various local holiday rentals, and…
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Fiordland & Southland
An easy 45-minute return walk leads through forest to Lake Mistletoe, a small glacier-formed lake.
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Fiordland & Southland
A steep sealed road leads up to the top of 265m Bluff Hill (Motupōhue), where a path spirals up to a lookout. Various walking tracks head up here,…
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Fiordland & Southland
Historic photographs are the stars of this small museum focused on local natural and human history, and featuring Māori artefacts, whaling gear and…
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Fiordland & Southland
This 275m-high cascade is a worthwhile detour when driving the Milford Hwy. Reach the lookout point on an easy 1.2km hike through rainforest (30 minutes…
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Fiordland & Southland
Spanning the Waiau River about 12km north of Tuatapere, this suspension bridge, completed in 1899, is the longest of its kind in NZ. Its 15m-high concrete…
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Fiordland & Southland
Ten kilometres southwest of city centre Invercargill, this 26km sandy beach invites brisk walks and bike rides. Southland racing legend Burt Munro once…
